Perspective
by KSpazzed
Summary: Perspective. It's a funny thing. It changes when someone you care about almost dies. It changes when you're partly to blame. It changes when you find out it was attempted murder... and the murderer is also after you.
1. Trailer

**Author's Note: **This is a sequel to _What's Meant to Be, _but it's not necessary to read that one before this one, because this one stands on its own pretty well. You could call the first story a prequel. Anyway, trailers looked soooo fun, so I decided, heck, why not? I won't be able to update until after Saturday after this one, because of vacation, and I thought I wouldn't even be able to update before. Instead, I'm giving you a teaser! Hooray! I got my ideas for this one straight in my head, and it's more of an action-y type than the last one. I hope you enjoy this little sample of the story. :) Please review! I have a new goal of fifty reviews for a story. That would be awesome. So yeah. And apparently people can make trailers on Youtube for this kind of thing...? Call me a tech-failure if you want, but I'm not sure how. D: I think it would be really cool though. So if anyone could tell me how, that would be great, and if someone even wants to make one, I'd love them forever. Haha. My laziness is at work. Anyway, it's probably taken you more time to read this note than it will to have you read the actual trailer. So I'm proud of wasting two minutes of your time. :P Hope you like!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance.

* * *

**PERSPECTIVE TRAILER  
**By KSpazzed :)

_**It started with an ending…**_

"_I got fired, Chad."_

"_Sonny… don't leave me."_

_**But now everything's spinning out of control…**_

"_MOM! Stop the car!"_

"_Honey, I - I can't… it won't stop… I love you…"_

"_I love you too, now stop the car!"_

"_It won't work…"_

"_Mom, stop the c-"_

_**And things that should never happen…**_

"_Guys, I got a text from Sonny -"_

"_What did it say?"_

"_Wait, Tawni, why are you crying?"_

"_Chad… you haven't heard?"_

_**Do.**_

"_She fell off a bridge."_

"_Yeah. There was something wrong with the car."_

"_She fell off a bridge."_

"_Yes, Chad, she did."_

"_She fell off a bridge."_

"_Damn it Chad, hasn't it sunk in yet?"_

_**Now…**_

"_She's alive?"_

"_She's in a coma, Tawni."_

"_Still, Nico, she's alive! I can't believe it!"_

_**They're trying to get to her…**_

"_I'm coming too."_

"_Portlyn, there's really no need…"_

"_She was my friend too. I'm coming."_

"_You weren't good friends with her!"_

"_But I care, Chad."_

"_It doesn't matter, because no one is going! Both Marshall and your director said no! They need us to film…"_

"_Tawni, we're going anyway."_

_**And they're trying to get to the bottom of this…**_

"_Did you hear what happened?"_

"_No, what?"_

"_They looked at the vehicle, and it wasn't just a randomly blown tire…"_

"_What was it?"_

"_Someone stuck a very tiny bomb in there."_

"_You mean…"_

"_Yeah. It was attempted murder."_

_**Even though they may not want to find the truth.**_

"_So we're headed to Iowa?"_

"_That's where Sonny's hospital is."_

"_Wait, isn't Zora on vacation there…?"_

_**But if they do…**_

"_That was Sonny's car?"_

"_What did you DO, Zora?"_

"_I - I stuck a b-bomb in the tire…"_

"_Why would you do that?"_

"_Because… someone made me…"_

"_Who?"_

"_I can't tell you… they'll kill me…"_

_**It may mean the deaths of all of them.**_

"_If either of you make a sound, I'll kill you both right now."_

_**Starring Tawni Hart…**_

"_It's not my fault… it's never my fault… Oh God, was it my fault?"_

_**Nico Harris…**_

"_Don't worry… it will be okay… I hope."_

_**Grady Mitchell…**_

"_The hospital cafeteria is worse than our own!"_

_**Zora Lancaster…**_

"_It should have been me in that hospital bed, damn it!"_

_**Portlyn…**_

"_Chad, I love you, and I'm so, so sorry about Sonny!"_

_**Sonny Munroe…**_

"_Chad…"_

_**And Chad Dylan Cooper…**_

"_RUN!"_

_**In…**_

"_I didn't know you cared this much…"_

"_I didn't know I cared at all."_

_**PERSPECTIVE**_

_**Coming soon to a monitor/phone/iPod Touch (luckies) near you!**_

"_NO! Chad!"_

"_Sonny…"_

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	2. Not Letting Go

**Author's Note: **I know what I said. But I had free time, and I was bored, and well... _this _happened. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow, so definitely no more updates till next Saturday. Sorry. Enjoy! :) Oh, and thanks for reviewing, all. Please review this chapter too! :P

**Disclaimer: **If I owned _Sonny With a Chance_, something to this effect would really happen. Or Chad and Sonny would at least darn kiss already! The song at the beginning is _Born For This _by Paramore, and I don't own it either.

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* * *

Not Letting Go  
Sonny

"_Right now you're the only reason  
__I'm not letting go oh"_

* * *

All around me is the feeling that something bad is going to happen. Soon. I'm swimming in it, drowning in it. There's no room for treading here. I can't force these broken arms to move. I'm choking on water, water of dread, and my head's almost below the surface. Gasping. I'm gasping for breath, but all I get is water. There's no oxygen, none that I can take in. I feel like I'm dying. Maybe I am.

Something snaps behind my dark brown eyes, and all of a sudden I'm in this truck again, staring out at the land that doesn't matter to me anymore. I've been to so many places lately, sleeping in hotels, waiting to get back to Wisconsin, that I could care less. I could care less about a lot of things, actually. Being away from Hollywood, from my dreams, is making me feel buried six feet under ground.

Probably why that feeling overcame me, of hopelessness and destruction. A nightmare. I hate dreams. I hate sleeping in the front seat of this uncomfortable vehicle. The cushions that used to feel so soft now make me feel like I'm sitting on a pointy stone; they're ripped and jagged, and all the fluff is tumbling out. I never thought I'd get accustomed to being famous enough to ride around in limos all the time, but apparently I have. I never thought I'd get accustomed to Hollywood, for that matter, but…

Above all, when I left Condor Studios for the last time, I never thought I'd miss a single person there. Well, now I do. I can't be mad at anyone, much as I want to. I miss Tawni, despite her faking like I'd shoved her to the ground (I doubt she meant to get me fired). I miss Nico, despite him taking Tawni's side (I'm pretty sure he had a good reason for that, anyway. I know people pretty well. I can tell when two people like each other). I miss Grady, despite him hating me ever since I 'broke Nico's heart'. (Last I checked, Nico broke _mine_.) I miss Zora, despite her plotting against me. (Did she plan out the whole thing, or was that all Tawni?)

I even miss Chad, despite him kissing me when I was vulnerable in an attempt to lower the viewers of _So Random!_. He's the only one who will text me now. He's the only one who will have anything to do with me. The others won't even discuss what happened in magazines. Chad did - and he took the blame for all of it. He didn't know the full story, of course, and he still doesn't, but even so, it was something I never expected from him.

He texts me whenever he has free time, but now it's two-thirty in the morning in California. My inner clock is saying that. I'm so used to that place that I don't even know what time it is in Wisconsin right now. I miss Hollywood, to death, but I had to get away. I'm moving to Nevada after a visit to Wisconsin, in case I get another opportunity. It doesn't feel likely to me, but it might happen. I hope it will.

In any case, without Chad texting me, I feel like all my connections have been severed. I'm frighteningly alone. My mom is sitting in the driver's seat, looking out into the night through the windshield. I'll get to see Lucy in Wisconsin. Even so, I feel like Lucy and I haven't been half as close as usual ever since I became an actor on _So Random!_, and my mom is just… my mom. Even with her here, I don't feel as safe as I used to. We've lost some of our connection, too.

My eyes follow the windshield wipers, waving back and forth, back and forth, wiping the rain drops away. That's when I begin to feel sick.

_Bad things, when they happen, always happen on rainy days._

It may seem just a silly superstition, but it's not. Not to me. I feel chills down my back. I shiver, fighting the cold sensation and leaning back against the head rest. Two-forty-five in the morning. It's probably three- or four-forty-five here. I should be asleep. I slam my eyelids shut and try to think happy thoughts, to calm myself down.

_Premonitions. I'm going insane. Great._

Everyone has a sixth sense, I always thought, but mine feels especially acute tonight. I can't swallow the nausea in my throat. I can't get rid of the blood roaring in my ears.

_Sonny, be quiet. Pleasssse calm down. Please._

But I can't.

We're approaching a bridge, over some sort of river. I glance down at it, watching the water flow up and down, up and down, and I have to take a deep breath to remind myself I'm not drowning. My dream feels more real than ever. It's with me now, making me feel like there's no ground beneath me.

_Well, this is weird. Maybe there's something wrong with my brain. Maybe I should go to the hospital._

_Maybe I'm just paranoid._

In any case, I can't quite quell the foreboding emotion overwhelming me, so I dig out my phone. I set up a new text message to Chad.

_Chad, tell everyone I love them and forgive them. And you, too. I love you and I forgive you. I'm glad we're friends now. And don't worry_

I can't think of what to say. Don't worry about me? Why should he? It's just a strange feeling I have. Nothing's probably going to happen. I move my thumb over to the backspace to delete that part, but instead I accidentally hit send. Like lightning, it goes, and I shrug.

_Sounds kinda suicide-y, but I can explain it later._

_If there's a later._

_Shut up._

"Hmm?" my mom asks, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Nothing," I mutter. Gosh, now I'm talking to myself.

We're an inch away from the bridge now, and the roaring river. I can't look at it. I bow my head and search under the seat for the gummies I packed - just tasting candy might make me feel better. I can't find them, though, so I reach under the seat-

_Bang._

An explosion. I fly to the side. The truck falls off-balance.

"A tire blew!" I shout to Mom over the noise of the metal skidding against the road.

Her face is chalk white. "We're on the highway… and a bridge…"

"MOM! Stop the car!" I holler. Then I'm thrown brutally against the door, gagging as the seatbelt constricts my chest like a snake. I struggle against it, trying to get back in my seat, but the car's too tilted for that. Mom's having a hard enough time not falling off of hers as she grips the steering wheel determinedly, fighting to gain control. She slams against the brakes, sending us flying across the road. Honks resound in my ears, but more than that, I hear my cries of fear.

"Honey, I - I can't… it won't stop… I love you…"

This is _not _sounding good. It sounds like a good-bye. Like she thinks she's going to die. Like she thinks maybe I am.

Tears spring to my eyes. It takes a great effort to lift up my hand, but I brush them away. I have to be strong in this last moment.

_Thank God I sent that text to Chad._

"I love you too, now stop the car!" If I can help it, this isn't going to be a tearful, sentimental moment. That would mean giving up. That would mean accepting that we're going to die.

Maybe I should, but I just can't.

"It won't…" she murmurs, half to herself, before being thrown off the seat and hitting her head against the windshield. Glass shards fly all around us.

"Mom, stop the c-" I start to say hopelessly, before all of a sudden we're airborne. It feels like I'm on a roller coaster, only there's no railing for a lifeline, and no feeling of elation and fun. Instead, it's numbness and fright.

We tumble down towards the water, and as we're falling I can feel glass cut my forehead, but it doesn't matter to me anymore. Little flecks of black are threatening my vision, and I'm struggling to stay awake. My mom's already out cold, but I'm stronger than that.

_I hope._

I cling to the thoughts of what I had before my life was in pieces - Tawni, as a best friend; Nico and Grady, as almost brothers; Zora, who felt like my little sister; Chad.

I've never quite figured out what Chad is to me, and I figure I never wil. But I know that I loved him, every bit as much as the others.

Maybe even more so.

Then there's water around me, and I feel a jolt as we strike the river floor. In the distance, I think I can hear sirens, but I'm pretty sure that it's just my imagination conjuring up something that could save me.

_But nothing can save me now._

My vision ebbs; my lungs tire; and still I cling on. _Grady… Zora… Nico… Tawni…_

_Chad…_

Then there's nothing left to hold onto, and I sink down into a sea of nothingness.


	3. We Are Broken

**Author's Note: **I'm baaack... :) Vacation was so fun. Sorry about the wait. I hope this makes up for it, despite being sad and all... yeah. I'll try to update soon as another special treat. Sorry for not replying to the reviews yet, but I wanted to get this out for you guys. You know how I said that this stood well enough on its own? Well, it mostly does, but for this chapter, a little knowledge of _What's Meant to Be _is required to get all the gritty little details and actually understand it. So, to save you the boredom of reading it (looking back at it, I think it was actually pretty bad. Hee hee. Sorry) I'll just hit the key points here.

Nico and Sonny were going out, but Nico broke up with Sonny.

Sonny, in order to vent, wrote a sketch insulting Nico, but never meant for it to be read. The others accidentally saw it.

Chad kissed Sonny when she was vulnerable, to further push her away from her cast mates, so the sketches would be bad and ratings would fall.

In the meantime, Tawni and Nico began to like each other. Oooh. Romance. You'll see this pairing later, but it's mostly Chad and Sonny in this story.

Tawni, Nico, Grady, and Zora hated Sonny after the picture of Chad and her kissing hit magazines. Tawni and Sonny argued during a sketch. Tawni pushed Sonny, and Sonny shoved Tawni, but Tawni pretended to fall over and be hurt.

Marshall fired Sonny.

Sonny told Chad and he felt pretty guilty about it.

Chad texted Sonny after she forgave him, and received a text that you will read in a little bit.

That's _What's Meant to Be _in a nutshell, folks. :P Yeah, I didn't like it much either. This one's wayyyyy better. I can't believe I have 19 reviews already! Wow! Thanks SO much guys! Now I'm going to stop boring you with this lengthy author's note, so you can actually read the chapter. Ciao!

But as a P.S... (Yeah, I know, hate me if you will) I have a new poll on my profile. Check it out, people! I need ideas! :D

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance. I also don't own the song We Are Broken by Paramore.

**We Are Broken  
Chad**

* * *

"_And don't take the truth at any cost  
_'_Cause we are broken"_

* * *

Something's wrong with me today, I'll tell you that.

Chad Dylan Cooper does _not _have nerves. Never. Never. I am the picture of confidence (which, I'll admit, sometimes gets me into horrible situations, like this one). Butterflies shouldn't be attacking my stomach. I shouldn't be biting my lip. _If the paparazzi got a picture of this… my rep would be ruined._

But here I am, monarchs flapping around, my teeth cutting into my bottom lip so hard I think it might bleed, staring at the doorway to the _So Random! _prop room. Before now, barging in was never a problem. The only difference is that Sonny's not here, and the others might blame me for her getting kicked off the show. With the way my self-assurance is melting around my shoulders, I'd probably get all flustered as they shot accusations at me.

I guess this is Sonny's favor, though, and I might as well do it. I glance at the text again, reading it to myself, and a bad, dizzy feeling comes over me. God, it sounds like a _suicide _note. I mentally smack myself for being stupid. Sonny would never do that. She's too… sunny, for lack of a better word. Well, there probably is a better word, but I can't think of one. Bubbly doesn't seem quite as accurate as sunny. Maybe that's because Sonny's name sounds like sunny. Wouldn't that make it not as descriptive, though, because a word's being repeated? Would optimistic work? Bouncy?

Now I'm rambling to myself. Something is seriously wrong with me. I take a deep breath, in, out, letting the dizziness fade. Sonny's okay. I'm okay.

I tentatively reach one fist up, scolding myself for being cautious at all, and rap it against the cold, hard wood.

Nico (yes, I know their names; what did you think, they were on my wall under 'unknown'? That would be unprofessional) opens the door almost instantly, his face grim with dark circles under his eyes. He doesn't look surprised or angry to see me, which is a first. Instead, his nose scrunches up in an expression of… pity? Guilt? Both seem evident.

"Hey, Chad. Come on in," he mutters, his voice raspy and pained. Confused, I follow him into the room, making sure I stand close to the doorway in case Tawni charges me or something. Nico sits down on the couch, squeezing his way between Tawni and Grady, who are staring at the screen, their faces every bit as solemn as Nico's. The little girl, Zora, is nowhere within eyesight, probably hiding in her sarcophagus or in the air vents.

I need to get out of here; the sad, baffling air is starting to make me uncomfortable. "Guys, I got a text from Sonny -" I start, but I can't continue because a blonde-haired tiger rushes at me, closely followed by her cast mates.

"What did it say?" Tawni begs ravenously. I look down at my phone and begin to read it, but then I stop and do a double-take. Tawni's looking ferocious, her teeth clenched and her eyes narrowed; beyond that is a layer of vulnerability. Black mascara marks decorate her cheeks, right beside still-damp trails of tears. Even now her eyes are watering, threatening to spill. I sharply inhale.

"Wait, Tawni, why are you crying?" I ask, and the hungry, tiger-like expression dies, replaced by a look of sadness and preparation. I go still.

She looks just like someone about to break the bad news.

"Chad… you haven't heard?" she whispers slowly, and I shake my head, gripping my phone so hard my knuckles have gone white. Nico and Grady stare at me incredulously.

"Rewind it, guys," Tawni murmurs, waving her hand. Grady and Nico both grab for the remote. Grady gains control and punches the rewind button so hard that I'm surprised the remote didn't break.

I sit on the arm of the couch, eyes glued to the screen. After an eternity, Grady stabs play, and a scene of a car being fished out of a river flashes on the television.

"_At around three a.m. this morning on the border of Iowa and Nebraska, a car lost control and crashed through the bridge into the river below. Witnesses reported that one of the tires had burst. Two people have been removed from the car, unidentified as of yet. Luckily, no one else was injured. We will bring you all updates on this story as soon as they happen. Carey Valdez, Los Angeles."_

I can't quite see what the problem is yet, but I do know that I'm carefully avoiding looking at the time of the text I received just last night… this morning. The dizziness is coming back.

"Fast forward," Tawni hisses, and Grady obliges. It's another eternity before he presses play.

"_Police have identified the two victims in the bridge car accident earlier this morning. Connie Munroe -" - _a picture comes up on screen, and I pray that the woman isn't who I think she is - "- _and Alison "Sonny" Munroe, former star of _So Random!_. Connie was pronounced dead at Iowa River Hospital at 10:02 a.m. today, and Sonny was admitted to intensive care, where she still clings on, though doctors think she is likely to go at any time."_

I'm half-expecting Grady to further fast-forward to a segment where that same reporter would announce that Sonny was dead - _oh God no -_ but he strikes the live button with deadly force. His face is a mask of burden, much like Nico's and Tawni's, and maybe mine.

I stand up and back away from the television screen, horrified, but then something clicks in my mind, and I start cracking up.

Tawni screeches in anger, and Grady lunges at me, held back by Nico. I laugh for a while longer before shaking my head and sighing, a smile lingering on my face. "You guys actually thought you could get me with that? You can't pull _anything _on Chad Dylan Cooper!"

Grady fights against Nico's grip. "Let me at him… I'll punch that Chad Dylan POOPER till he bleeds…"

"No, dude!" Nico responds, struggling to hold the beefy actor back.

"I'll handle this," Tawni decides, with a trademark hair flip (seriously; she bought the rights to it a few weeks ago). This time, though, there's no smug smile to accompany it, just a tight frown.

She strides over and slaps me.

"Ow!" I shout, rubbing my cheek. "NO ONE slaps Chad Dylan Cooper!"

"Oh, shut up, you're worse than _me_," Tawni retorts. "Now get it through your thick little head that this is REAL!"

"No, it's not!" I deny, chuckling. "You guys actually faked a whole news thing to get me to feel guilty. You're pranking me!"

"No… we're… NOT!" Tawni roars.

"You are! And this text from Sonny…" I flip open my phone and read it aloud in a mocking, high-pitched voice. "_Chad, tell everyone I love them and forgive them. And you, too. I love you and I forgive you. I'm glad we're friends now. And don't worry." _

Tears brim at the corner of Tawni's eyes again, and I flinch back, in case she tries to slap me again to make this stupid prank more believable. Even if there's no way that I will ever believe that Sonny is close to death. They will _never _manage to convince me of that.

"She forgave us," Nico mutters. "I can't believe we did this to her."

I don't know what he's talking about, seeing as it's all my fault, but it's cleared up quickly as Tawni replies, "Yeah. I should have never pretended that she knocked me down, or pushed her to the point where she'd shove me in the first place."

"We should have believed her when she said she didn't mean anything by that stupid sketch, instead of plotting against her," Grady agrees.

"We should have listened when she told us that it wasn't her fault that Chad kissed her," Nico says, glaring at me.

I laugh again, earning myself angry glares from the Randoms. "So basically, it wasn't my fault -" I start, despite the guilt that I still feel. "It was yours. Nothing you say will prove to me that Sonny is almost dead."

"Fine. Nothing _we _say. But how about what Sonny _doesn't _say?" Tawni fires.

"Huh?"

"Text her, Chad. See if she texts back."

"You probably told her not to," I point out, but I text her anyway. _Sonny, stop it. I know all about your stupid plan to make me feel guilty. Give it up!_

I stand there for five minutes, staring blankly at my phone, and shrug.

"Guess she likes to play this part. I don't see why you all are trying to make me feel guilty, seeing as it's you three and Zora who are the culprits here."

"And you, Chad, unless what you said in that magazine was a lie?" Grady says.

"Well, yeah, but I don't see why you'd want me to feel guiltier."

"We don't!" Tawni exclaims, throwing her hands up. "Fine. Go around believing that Sonny's still alive, okay? But be prepared to be made an idiot in front of the camera." She tosses me a magazine with Sonny on the cover, talking about the car crash. "Convinced yet?"

"You faked a magazine, too? You Randoms have too much free time," I say with a smirk, and begin to stride smugly out of the room. Then my phone vibrates, and I open it up to find a text from… Verizon?

_The number you have text messaged has been disconnected._

"You disconnected her phone number?" I try in disbelief, my voice embarrassingly weak. But I can see it on all their faces, that they can see what's on mine. The walls are crumbling around me, leaving the room a spinning mess.

_The number you have text messaged has been disconnected._

This can't be real. This seriously can't be real. It's still a lie. It has to be a lie.

_The number you have text messaged has been disconnected._

The truth.

"She fell off a bridge," I whisper numbly.

"Yeah. There was something wrong with the car," Grady says.

"She fell off a bridge." The world stops turning.

"Yes, Chad, she did," Nico puts in, not impatiently, just sorrowfully.

"She fell off a bridge."

"Damn it Chad, hasn't it sunk in yet?" Tawni demands.

I crumble, falling to my knees, my head hitting my hands as soon as I feel the water in the bottom of my eye. No one, not the Randoms, not anyone, can see Chad Dylan Cooper cry.

They can hear my muffled sobs.

They can take in my shaking shoulders, my trembling hands.

They can _know _that I am crying.

But not a single person, no one on the face of this Earth, can ever actually see me cry.

No one.

I can hear the shocked gasps around me, full of sadness and understanding, as well as sympathy.

Now I have to sit here, until they all leave, or until I can stop.

But I can't.

Sonny, Sonny, Sonny.

Everything's fading around me, leaving a black hole of oblivion. There's no pain, not like I'd expect, just a throbbing sensation that I took to mean grief. In fifteen minutes, my world has turned from near perfect to shambles, broken up into tiny little pieces and scattered around for a near-dead pretty haired girl to trample all over them.

_Oh, God, Sonny..._

* * *


	4. That's What You Get

**Author's Note: **I kept trying to get this out to you guys, but I kept having to do stuff. :( I would have used my free time for something else, but you have SparkleInTheSun to thank for me _not _doing that, because her review made me laugh. Hope you likeee :) From now on, I'ma try to do shorter author's notes. Gonna be hard for me, peoples. As a final note, thanks to all the reviews I've gotten since I left for vacation! I don't think I'll have time to reply, nor do I remember which ones I've replied to and which I haven't... sorry... but I think it would be best if I just started responding to new reviews and not the old. Starting now, I will respond to any reviews that come in! :D Thanks for all the reviews to all my reviewers, and sorry bout the inconvenience. This chapter is dedicated to you!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance nor That's What You Get by Paramore.

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* * *

That's What You Get  
Tawni

* * *

"_No sir, well I don't wanna be the blame, not anymore  
__It's your turn, so take a seat  
__We're settling the final score"_

* * *

After Chad broke down, he froze in that position for so long that we were scared he had a heart attack. I don't mean that in a joking, simile-ish way, either. Sonny came close to death, so there was always a chance that, randomly, Chad had too.

I always picture them together, anyway. Therefore, if Sonny's dead, it makes sense that Chad would die too, whether it be the fates bringing them together or Chad stabbing himself.

Nico, Grady, and I rushed over to him immediately and brought him to his feet. Before we could even so much as look at his face he whirled around and ran the heck out of our prop room. I had mixed feelings as I watched him go: relief, pity, revulsion, guilt.

Now, my feet propped up on the coffee table, my bloodshot eyes consuming every word on the news, I sip a mocha in a futile attempt to stay awake. It's past two in the morning and everyone else has gone home, but I can't bring myself to get up and just walk away. Call it guilt, call it friendship, call it whatever the hell you like, but I don't want to be in the car and maybe miss some breaking news about Sonny. It's ridiculous for me to have to rely on the news like this, like some little girl whose hero is Sonny (I should be said little girl's hero, but you get the point) when I'm best friends… no… friends… no… when I know the girl who's lying in a hospital bed on life support. I lost that label of best friends when I intentionally got Sonny in trouble and unintentionally got her off the show.

I've made a thousand excuses to myself. I was angry, I felt betrayed. I couldn't believe Sonny had locked lips with my worst enemy. I still felt beyond mad about what she had done to Nico… it's funny how now, none of those excuses seem even the least bit redeeming. She didn't mean to hurt Nico. Chad had seized the opportunity and Sonny had been too sad to even think about what she was doing… which was my fault, too.

Funny how everything's my fault.

I shouldn't be having this damn self-pity right now. The only pity I should be feeling is for the girl in a car accident because I helped to put her in that car on its ride home.

I'm tired. I'm so completely tired that if I closed my eyes right now I think I'd never wake up. But if I close my eyes and Sonny dies during that time, she'll never wake up either, and I'll just feel guiltier than ever.

Guilt's not a feeling that I've felt before too much, but it stings. Stings worse than a slap in the face, or a bee (for your information, I'm allergic). If Sonny dies, that's what I'll be living with every single day of my life. I might have to buy a wheelchair, even. I'm not sure if I could walk with all that guilt.

My head droops.

Then my coffee's all over my lap, I'm hugging a pillow, the TV's blaring in my face, and the clock reads 7:13 in annoying, red digital numbers. I blink wearily and want to scream. I could have missed something. Sonny could be dead right now.

If Sonny were dead though, wouldn't there be a feeling or something? Some sign that she was lost from the world? Instead, I feel exactly like I did last night: sleep deprived, sad, worried sick, and guilty. Yes, I'm still feeling guilty. Ugh. Wouldn't there be a tad more grief thrown in there if she were dead? For a sign, maybe Chad would be in here chucking pickles at the wall or something.

Yes, my sleep-deprived imagination is a delirious one, thank you very much.

I sit up abruptly and turn towards the screen, getting brown liquid all over the couch. Apparently the cup was still resting on me, and it wasn't empty. Grady and Nico are going to kill me for coffee staining their sofa, but that's not what I'm worried about right now, because there's a very familiar brunette on the screen.

"_Sonny Munroe is in stable condition, but she is in a coma…"_

My ears block out all other sound.

Sonny. Alive.

Alive.

I jump up, scream, and punch the air with a delighted laugh, then Nico barges in and stares weirdly at me. "Sonny! She's alive! She's alive! She's alive?" The last one comes out sounding like a question because, after preparing myself all night for the last devastating blow, it feels unreal that she might not be dead.

Nico sits down and smacks the rewind button. He watches the scene unfold, and, with uncharacteristic pessimism, says, "She's in a coma, Tawni."

"Still, Nico, she's alive! I can't believe it!" I shout, trying to get him all excited too. I've never seen Nico quite so… dead. It makes shivers go down my spine to think of it that way. _I am never going to use that kind of metaphor again. No more references to death… it might jinx something. Nico can't die. _I'm more paranoid than I was when Chad 'took over' that prank show.

Nico looks up at me and half-smiles, nods a little, then turns back to the TV. There aren't going to be any more updates for a while, I hope, because that would mean something critical would be happening. Either Sonny would be awake and well or she'd be dead. Fifty-fifty. Maybe even worse odds, because I don't know the extent of her injuries.

Suddenly all I need in this world is time.

"Nico…" I breathe.

His head snaps up, his eyes alert as they can be in his depression. "What?"

"We should go to her. We should tell her our 'sorry's and 'love ya's and…" I trail off, because I will _not _say _'_good-bye's. That makes it sound too final. It's not final. Sonny is going to live. Sonny needs to live.

Nico tilts his head, considering this. "Dang, girl! Why didn't I think of that?" He grins at me, sending a warm feeling all through me (not a good time for warm feelings, now is it?).

"So you'll come?"

"Couldn't keep me away." He gets to his feet. "But we better go ask Marshall for time off. He's not going to like this. He's lost one member of the show already, and we might have to postpone the next season…"

"He'll understand," I cut in with a knowing laugh, even though my stomach is churning with worry. I hadn't thought of that. I can't let Nico see my uncertainty, though, as he's actually glad and energetic for the first time since we heard about the accident. I follow him out of the room, keeping pace with his sprint despite wearing a skirt and heels.

Suddenly Nico crashes into someone, and I crash into Nico, falling to the ground. With an indignant huff I push myself up and brush the dust off my skirt. I look up to see none other than Chad Dylan Cooper, appearing as cocky as ever as he stares down at us.

"Chad," I spit.

He doesn't say anything, just looks back and forth from Nico to me. "Where are you headed?"

"To Marshall's office," I answer with a smirk. "Sonny's alive, and we're going to go see her!"

"Sounds fun. I'll come with," Chad says, and starts to walk after us. Then Portlyn prances up to us, a steely look in her eye.

"I'm coming too," she says determinedly and warily, as though she's sure there will be an argument. She's right.

"Portlyn, there's really no need…" Chad begins in a hasty voice.

"She was my friend too. I'm coming."

"You weren't good friends with her!" he tries, exasperated and obviously wanting to get out of here. Portlyn's expression is betrayed and hurt as she gapes at Chad, and I start to walk backward. _This isn't my fight… Nico and I should get outta here._

"But I care, Chad," she murmurs. _Oh, wow… is she going to cry? Diva much?_

I rush away, grabbing Nico's hand and pulling him with me as he watches the bickering as if it were a movie. He frees himself and walks with dignity to Marshall's office with me. My fist goes up and taps the door, anxiety making me sweat. _Tawni Hart cannot sweat! _I only tell myself that to make it feel more normal around here. Meager things like that don't seem to matter as much anymore.

"Come in," Marshall's nasally voice orders. Trembling slightly, I take baby-steps towards his desk, looking at the floor. Nico strides in and looks at Marshall with confidence and authority; things are definitely changing around here.

"Marshall, we're gonna need some vacation time; we want to go visit Sonny in the hospital," Nico demands. Marshall glances sadly up at him, and then down at a pile of papers he's holding.

"Yes, well, as much as I'd like for everyone to drop everything and visit Sonny, we… can't." He says it hesitantly. "There's too much work to do for the new season."

"Without Sonny?" I shriek.

He shrugs sheepishly. "Regrettably, we'll have to. Shame about her mother and all…"

I can't listen to any more. I storm out of there and, after traveling about one hundred feet, sit on the ground with my hands over my ears and start to cry. This can't be happening. I can't take all this guilt. If Sonny dies without me saying sorry… I can't stand this. Stuff like this shouldn't be happening. My life needs to be all glamorous and perfect. Sonny dying with me at fault isn't glamorous or perfect, at all. I don't want to feel the blame on my shoulders for the rest of my life, no matter if it's partly Chad's fault or not.

After a few minutes of endless sobbing, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I lift my head to see Nico tightly smiling at me in concern. "Hey," he says. "You okay?"

I sniff and nod. He pulls me into a hug, which only makes me feel worse, and says, "Well, I talked to the Mackenzie Falls director too, for Chad, and he said no as well. With the new season at stake, no one cares about Sonny." His voice isn't comforting now, just bitter.

I wobble as I stand up but regain composure as I timidly walk back to where Portlyn and Chad are still arguing. Fed up with it, I run out between them and shout, "Shut up! It doesn't matter, because no one is going! Both Marshall and your director said no. They need us to film…"

Chad cuts me off. "Tawni, we're going anyway." He sighs. "You, me, the Randoms... the cast of Mackenzie Falls... we're going anyway."

"You mean… sneak away?"

"Whatever it takes."


	5. Let the Flames Begin

**Author's Note: **Okay, so honestly, I'm not having a great time of my life right now. It's kind of... suckish. Don't ask, but because of this, I might not be in the writing mood sometimes. Don't hate me. I'm going camping with a couple of friends this weekend, and then on Tuesday I'm off on another trip till Sunday. Sorry. :/ This time I'll try to bring my laptop, but I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write. And on the last week of July, I'll hopefully be busy packing for moving, so don't expect anything. I'm really sorry. This might be the last update for a while, if I'm unlucky, because volleyball starts in August, and then school... and before that I have homework to do. Darn Honors Science 9. I hope you like this, despite it being a little of a filler...

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance or Starbucks. I also don't own Let the Flames Begin by Paramore.

**

* * *

**

Let the Flames Begin  
Chad and Sonny

* * *

"_And I'll die searching for it  
__Can't let myself regret  
__Such selfishness_

_My pain and all the trouble caused  
__No matter how long  
__I believe that there's hope buried beneath it all"_

* * *

**Chad**

It should be so simple, but instead, it's so hard. Like no one's going to notice when ten people disappear from the studio, and after that talk with Marshall of course no one will be able to figure out where they've gone. Now, we're all adults here, or a year or two away from it, and should be able to make our own decisions. That's not what happens when you have bosses who can't see three feet in front of their thick little heads. I expected at least Marshall to understand, as Sonny was his actress, but he's more concerned about the new season than a dying girl who recently belonged to his show.

I sigh and look around the big, empty house, almost regretting that I'll have to drive my mother crazy with worry. Not many people would think it, but my mother is the big, cookie-baking, sweet and talkative, stay-at-home kind of mother. She's great. My father's not too bad either - he's away for work a lot (he works as the president of a toy company; I'm the only one who is the big actor around here) but he's a good guy anyway.

My older sister moved out a few years ago to pursue her surgeon dreams, and my younger sister is away at a boarding school she received a scholarship to. They're the smart ones, and I'm just the big-headed actor kid around here. I could move out, but I guess I'm too lazy… maybe when I get back here after Sonny's okay.

I've bought the plane tickets for the ten of us, being the richest in Condor Studios, and I'm shoving clothes and toiletries into a small brown suitcase. I'm thankful that Mom is out visiting Kathryn at medical school; otherwise she'd probably hear the banging I'm making trying to cram all this crap into one bag. It wouldn't work to have to carry around more than that; I have no idea what will happen once we arrive in Iowa.

My cell phone vibrates against my oak wood end table, and I pay it no attention, figuring it's only a text. Then it vibrates again, and I dart over to the other side of the room to pick it up and say breathlessly, "Hello?"

"Chad?" a tired female's voice greets me.

I groan. "Yeah, Tawni?"

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"I handed you all the information yesterday!" I remind her, annoyed.

"Yeah, but… I kind of… dropped it. In a puddle. I know you wouldn't expect Tawni Hart to be clumsy, but I -"

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Is this how annoying _I _am? Probably not. It just doesn't work as well for people like Tawni. "6:30 in the morning, so be there by 5:30."

"But I won't get the full extent of my beauty sleep!" Tawni whines.

"Too bad. See ya," I say, and hang up the phone. I won't complain if she doesn't come, but I hope she'll be there, if only for Sonny's sake - she was really torn apart after her 'best friend' (which I don't think Tawni should qualify for; _I _should) betrayed her. I want Tawni to apologize before -

Before Sonny gets better, you know, because when she gets better then she'll be better, and an apology might be able to get her better faster, which wouldn't work if she were already better, you know?

*

**Sonny**

It's all hazy in my mind. My eyes won't open. It feels… weird, here. All that proves that I'm still alive is a constant _beep-beep-beep _in my ear. This must be another dream. I've been having them lately, like one where I fell off a bridge, and another where I…

It's gone.

In fact, it's all going, just as I hear hasty yells and hurried footsteps.

*

**Chad**

Maybe the best thing to do is to write a note to our directors, to make them think something else is going on. They won't fall for it; they aren't _that _retarded. But it might help, I guess… or not. I decide to make one anyway.

So I write a note to my director in a barely legible scrawl, but I hope he can read it.

_Screw you._

Then it's out the door and into the limo, to arrive on time for the plane that will take me to Iowa.

*

**Sonny**

My hand reaches out for my phone, to text Chad, but I can't feel the phone in my fingers.

In fact, I don't think I've moved at all.

I don't know where I am or what I'm doing here… all I know is that when I scream, no one hears, and when I'm not sleeping, or I think I'm not, people come and then there's the scratch of pencil on paper. This isn't making sense.

Shouldn't I be in Wisconsin by now?

I bet this is Chad's fault.

*

**Chad**

The others are already there waiting for me, carrying small bags and tired eyes. I take a moment to glare at them all before putting my suitcase down and falling exhaustedly on the bench. Marta, a slender, dark-haired actor on _Mackenzie Falls, _looks at me with concern, but it's easy to see that it's all faked. I don't have the energy to shoo her away right now, so I just lean back my head and pretend to be asleep until she goes away. The jerk thinks she's entitled to me because of our on-screen romance; luckily Portlyn doesn't think the same. Portlyn hasn't been on the show for this season, because she was involved in a horrible ballooning accident and Marta's character, Penelope, became Mackenzie's love interest. In the season finale, though, Portlyn's going to come back to the Falls; needless to say, there will be some drama between Penelope and Portlyn.

Well, that is, if there's a season finale now.

Ferguson, a tall African-American, plops down beside me, still holding onto the notion that he's my best friend. The idiots on my show can't get it through their thick little heads that the show itself is not real. I chuckle to myself, thinking of how Sonny used to tell me that I thought life was a show. My heart sinks, as it always does now when I think of Sonny.

I look up to scrutinize everyone, despite my neck protesting at such an awkward position. Nico's got both fists clenched; Grady is glaring at random people, who scurry away from him like frightened mice; Ferguson is staring at me with _concern _(I'm sick and tired of people looking 'concernedly' at me, as though I'm weak or something); Marta is glowering at me; Chastity, a nice, sweet kind of girl that would remind me of Sonny if she had a sense of humor at all, is dabbing at her eyes with a Starbucks napkin; Skyler, a bratty drama-queen (yes, queen, not king) is standing there with his arms folded, thinking; Portlyn is nowhere to be seen, probably at a shop in the airport; and Tawni looks surprisingly like a wreck, her hair disheveled, wearing polyester pants. It bothers me a little that Sonny's cast is so affected, but aside from Chastity, Portlyn, and I, no one from my cast seems to care about the hospitalized girl.

Portlyn drags her feet back over to us, clutching two frappachinos in shaky hands. Ferguson gets up and Portlyn immediately takes his spot beside me, handing me one of the coffees. "Hey, Chad," she murmurs, grinning in a pained sort of way.

I sip the coffee, which happens to be my favorite. Something occurs to me then, and I sit upright, eyes wide-open; the last time Portlyn got me coffee like this was when she told me that, for the time being, she was being replaced by Marta. The time before that, Marta came on the show. The time before _that_, we had to tell the world that we were dating. Basically, the only time Portlyn brings me coffee is when something bad happens. I remove the straw from my mouth and ask, "Who died?"

She stares at me, stricken, and I regret it instantly. It's so easy to forget that it might be Sonny…

Oh, God. Not now.

Portlyn must have read me pretty well, because she says comfortingly, "No, Chad, she's not dead ye… she's not dead. Did you hear what happened?"

"No, what?" My teeth are painfully clenched together, and I'm sure that the blood has drained from my face.

"Well…" she tentatively starts. "They looked at the vehicle, after fishing it out of the river and whatnot, and it wasn't just a randomly blown tire…"

Now that I know it doesn't have anything to do with Sonny's well-being, I can relax a little bit, even though I'm thoroughly baffled. "What was it?"

The frightened, sad look in her eyes chills me to the bone. "Someone stuck a very tiny bomb in there."

Oh no. "You mean…"

"Yeah. It was attempted murder."

*

**Sonny**

I've learned that the memories come in the form of dreams. I was in a car crash on a bridge, so this must be a hospital.

Upon realizing that, I can almost open my eyes, but not quite.

The footsteps come again, and my mind still races, until gently it's pulled back to a relaxing but horrible slumber.

*

**Chad**

Who would try to murder Sonny? Why would they do something like that?

We board the plane, and Nico and Tawni are holding hands, but I don't have time to wonder about something as uninteresting as Hollywood couples. The only thing I can think about is who stuck that bomb in Sonny's tire.

Probably a lowlife who didn't like the fact that she was off the show. It doesn't feel that simple, though - how would the murderer be caught if the bomb and tire exploded? There wouldn't be fingerprints. My hands unconsciously ball up into fists. If I have to, I'll join the FBI. If I have to, I'll spend the rest of my life hunting down that… that… there's no word to describe what that person is. Everything's too mild, too _good._

I lean back against the headrest, barely able to stop myself from beating my head against the window, and sigh deeply. There are too many things to think about. What the directors will do, what will become of our shows, how Sonny's doing, where that effing _killer _is hiding… My stomach clenches all of a sudden, and my eyes dart back and forth over my cast mates, the Randoms, my kind of _friends._

Could one of _them _have tried to kill Sonny?

*

**Sonny**

It's like I'm a kid's bouncy ball, bouncing back and forth between dreams and what I think is reality, even though, to be honest, I'm not all that sure anymore. The regular things are frantic beeps and scuffling footsteps, which annoy me to death. I get nervous in hospitals, ever since I was four and broke my leg. I was terrified in the ER, and I guess that feeling stayed with me. The weird thing is, even though my mind is fidgety, I can't move at all. Every time I try, those footsteps come again, and then I can't do anything else but listen to the voices and attempt to say something. It never works. I'm trapped in my own body and can't do anything.

I like the dreams better than the reality.

*

**Chad**

We're about thirty minutes into the flight when I overhear Grady talking to Nico and Tawni.

"So we're headed to Iowa?" Grady asks.

Nico rolls his eyes and, exasperated, responds, "That's where Sonny's hospital is."

"Wait," Tawni says sharply. "Isn't Zora on vacation there?"

I hear three rapid intakes of breath, and then Grady breaks the silence by saying, "Yeah, but I'm sure she has nothing to do with the attempted murder… it's good for her, I guess, because she's probably with Sonny right now…"

Oh, wow. Zora.

I never imagined an eleven-year-old who glued me to the window could be sinister enough to kill.

I'm going to have to talk to that girl when we get there, if I can keep myself from strangling her.

I can't believe it… Zora. I thought she was Sonny's friend.

But then again, Sonny thought _I _was her friend, too.

Maybe she's not the best judge of character.

*

**Sonny**

I hear a familiar, astonished, sad voice. "Sonny?"

This is the first time I've had a visitor. I want to say something to Zora, but I can't. It's impossible. I fight against my restraints, trying to move, to do anything.

Zora screeches as the footsteps come again, and I want to protect the girl who I once considered something like a little sister, but there's nothing I can do.

_Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep._


	6. Twisted

**Author's Note: **Remember how I said last chapter 'please don't hate me'? Yeah, well, please, feel free to hate me. I'm sorry, I thought there would be Internet connection in the place I was going, but no such luck. And now I'm back with the shortest chapter besides the trailer. Sigh. I hope you enjoy it anyway. I haven't found the time to get on and personally thank every last person for the reviews, so thanks so much to anyone who reviewed! This chapter I'll try really hard to reply to every single one.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance, or the song Twisted by Carrie Underwood. Wow, a non Paramore song!

****

* * *

Twisted  
Zora

* * *

"_Maybe, but it's too late to save me now  
__I'm too tangled"_

* * *

I yell in anger as thousands (it seems) of doctors race past me, shoving me around and out of the way as they gape at Sonny, my friend Sonny, like she's a zoo animal. Finally I'm alone in a corner of the room, staring at the crowd and thinking. They say she was in a car accident on a bridge, off the border of Iowa. I clutch my stomach in instinct, wanting to throw up, or kill myself or something. Feeling sick, I try to get closer to Sonny, but a female redhead pushes me back.

"You can't be with her right now, sweetheart. We need to monitor any and all brain activity."

"So I can only talk to her if she's brain-dead?" I snap. She stares at me, wondering how to retaliate (I've seen that look before on so many people), but then decides against it and merely walks back to the bedside. I sigh, rubbing my temples and feeling a lot older than eleven, and meander out of the room, out of the hospital, a block away. There needs to be a way to get out of here, to feel sane again.

But now my sanity decreases, because I must be hallucinating to see the casts of _Mackenzie Falls _and _So Random! _striding down the sidewalk, talking to each other, mixed together like old friends. The guy in the lead, Chad I think, carries a map and is talking to someone who looks an awful lot like Tawni, but that can't be possible. They hate each other. I could hide, but there's no reason to hide… right? I giggle nervously, a high-pitched sound that I'm sure has never come from me before, and continue walking towards them.

Chad's head swings around so he's looking forward, towards me. I can't help but flinch, but it doesn't seem like he even notices me. His head is tilted up, so he's probably staring off into space and doesn't recognize me.

Tawni elbows him in the ribs and whispers something in his ear. His eyes widen and meet mine. Then he's running, his face twisted up in anger, the rest of the casts sprinting after him.

I gasp as he picks me up and slams me into the side of a building. Squirming in his grip, I cry out in fear and pain, looking into those blue orbs so hateful and… scared, and saddened. In a way, that's worse than the red hot anger there.

"Chad! Stop!" cries a brunette, her eyes swimming with tears. Someone from _Mackenzie Falls_, I guess. He glances at her, then back at me, and drops me. I don't even bother landing on my feet; I just collapse on the ground, legs all sprawled out, stunned. Chad and the other girl trade whispers for a minute, then the actor hauls me to my feet and runs his hands anxiously through his hair, which oddly appears unwashed.

"Are you guys here to see Sonny?" I murmur pointlessly, looking down at my feet.

"Yeah," Nico speaks up. He and Grady shoulder their way through the crowd until they face me, silly, strange Stupidest Catch members no more. Instead, their faces are laced with suspicion, and my knees buckle, sending me to the ground again.

Chad sees this, my wariness, and shakes his head slowly, his hair flying around. He reminds me of a golden retriever shaking off water. "Zora…" he starts cautiously. "Did you hear _why _Sonny's car wrecked?"

"N-no…" I stutter, not quite wanting to hear.

"It was because of a bomb, a tiny little time bomb, that exploded and made their tire burst when she and her mother, now dead, were on the bridge." He stares at me, waiting for my face to change. Finally it crumbles and he exhales, closing his eyes.

"That was Sonny's car?" I squeak. I had my guesses, but to hear it confirmed now makes the whole world spin, except for me and the casts.

"What did you DO, Zora?" Chad demands, appearing ready to kill me as soon as look at me. I scoot backwards, right up against the wall, and start sobbing.

"I - I stuck a b-bomb in the tire…" I blubber.

He rolls his eyes. "We know that," he says. The casts are staring at me in anger and hatred, even those that I don't know, but what I can't take is Grady's hard stare, Nico's shock and disappointment, and Tawni's tearful expression. "But why would you do that?" Chad adds.

I'm not quite sure I should say anything, but I don't want this forever, knowing I'm loathed among those I care about. "Because…" I begin hesitantly, "someone made me…"

"Who?" Chad orders, bringing on another wave of tears. They wait impatiently for me to regain control.

When I do, I finally respond.

"I can't tell you… they'll kill me…" I say, my voice cracking and trailing off. Surprise crosses almost everyone's face. Nico takes a step forward, then a step back. Finally the only one to approach me is the brunette Chad was talking to earlier, who picks me up and hugs me comfortingly while I cry.

"Who are y-you?" I manage.

"My name's Chastity," she answers, smiling sadly. "I work on _Mackenzie Falls_. Zora, you know, you can tell us."

"No, I really can't…" I protest.

"Yes you can. You can even go in the Witness Protection Program if it makes you feel safer. But we need to know this. There's a murderer on the loose…"

"I know, I know!" I shout. "But I just… can't do that. Not to my family, they've worked so hard… I can't make them start over like this…"

"Please, Zora," Chad breaks in, and it almost convinces me to tell when I see tears threatening to overflow in the eyes of the guy I thought for sure could take anything. But I can't come clean.

"Sorry," I whisper, and I cry into Chastity's shirt. She doesn't seem to mind, just smiles uncertainly down at me.

"We're going to visit Sonny… would you like to come?" she asks, and I nod slowly.

Chad spits on the ground. "As if! Don't you see what that kid has done already?"

Chastity glares at him. "Yes, I do. I see an eleven-year-old little girl afraid for her life and her family's, who did the only thing she thought she could do and didn't even know that it was her friend she was almost killing."

I'm glad she's standing up for me, but I can see the truth in Chad's words. "It should be me in that hospital bed, damn it," I sob.

"No it shouldn't," Tawni counters. "Sonny will make it out of this, you'll see. But you're younger and weaker… you might have died on impact."

"She might have too," I say.

"But she didn't. I know there was a chance, but there would have been more of a chance if it were you. Do you think we'd really pick Sonny over you?" Tawni asks, folding her arms across her chest and waiting.

Chad's guilty eyes are all the answer I need, but I mutter "No" anyway.

"Uh, Zora…" Chad interjects uneasily. This is the longest conversation I've ever had with him. "Can you at least give us a clue as to who it is? Do we know him or her?"

I puzzle over that, and then, in an outburst of anger, "No, you don't know them! You think you know them, but you don't! You don't know them, and you probably never will…"

The casts eye each other curiously and frightfully. I can feel eyes boring into mine, and I start weeping weakly again.

"Don't worry, Zora, we'll all get out of this. You'll see," Grady says softly.

I only cry harder.


	7. Here We Go Again

**Author's Note: **Welcome, readers, for the first fast update in forever! You will find this chapter suspenseful and sad, I hope, but only suspenseful at the end. Now, onto business; my gosh, guys! Over 50 reviews! Thanks so much! Now, here's the biggie - the 65th reviewer will get one guess at who the murderer is. If we get to 75 reviews, then the 75th reviewer will get TWO guesses! Here's how it works; if you guess correctly, you cannot tell anyone, and I'll put a reference to your story in here. If you guess incorrectly, no worries! You're that much closer to knowing who it is, PLUS I'll give you what chapter contains a hint. You can't tell anyone about this hint. ^^ So go for it!

**Disclaimer: **I own not Sonny With a Chance or my favorite lines from Here We Go Again by Demi Lovato, which I do not own.

****

* * *

Here We Go Again  
Sonny and Chad

* * *

"_But it's just another pretty lie 'cause I break down  
__Every time you come around"_

* * *

**Sonny**

It's peaceful here, for the first time in what feels like forever.

I can think to myself without people barging in and making me go crazy again. This might be the longest time I've stayed what I think is conscious without anything going wrong. I can just lean back and relax against the pillow, taking deep breaths. My lungs are the only thing I have control of. I still can't move, I still can't open my eyes…

Maybe I'm dead, and the breathing's only an illusion of the mind. Maybe that's why no one's rushing in here. Maybe they are, and I just can't hear it, because now I'm deaf, too.

That theory goes to the dogs, however, when taps against the floor reach my ears. My mind recoils in annoyance and fright, but then I hear the first voice…

"Sonny?"

Oh my God, oh my God… Nico's here?

"_Sonny?_"

A shriek this time, high-pitched and worried. That can't possibly be Tawni, it's not like her to worry about me.

"Sonny!"

It's Grady this time, a hollow, pained sound.

Then there's a chorus of 'Sonny's, from people I've heard on the Mackenzie Falls set, but I don't actually know their names. Portlyn says something undistinguishable among the mountain of voices, and Zora - my heart clenches, it sounds like she's crying - says something like a sorry.

"Sonny? Oh my God, Sonny…"

I stop breathing for a second.

Chad's here.

Chad, the guy who ruined it all for me, who should probably take a lot of the blame for me being here today (even though it's not like he wrecked the car, so whatever).

Chad, the guy who's still been my friend, through everything.

Somehow, I have what feels like more strength now. I try to move my foot, but it doesn't work; then my hand, and I can feel my fingers moving up and down. It's not just in my mind either, because I hear a collective gasp from the casts.

I open my eyes.

"Sonny!" I'm not sure who it's from, because they all rush me at once. I tilt my head up, not bothering to listen to their anecdotes (they make no sense anyway). Instead, my gaze goes to the one guy grinning and awed still in the back of the room, who stares back at me nervously, as if afraid that I hate him.

"Sonny, guess what! Nico and I are going out!" squeals Tawni. I struggle to sit up, still unable to move my legs.

"That's great!" I tell her hoarsely, smiling. It feels good to smile again, to be alive again. Like coming away from icy waters to breathe in the soft scent of grass, earth, and warmth.

"Sonny! I'm so glad you're okay!" breathes Zora, her eyes red and puffy. I lean up to give her a hug.

"Thanks, Zora… are you okay?"

She sniffles. "Shouldn't be, but yeah."

I don't understand what she's saying here, but I squeeze her nonetheless, and everyone else who comes my way, even the people I don't know. The nicest one tells me her name is Chastity and grins at me; then Skyler and Ferguson give me well-wishes, too stiff to lean down and give me a hug. Well, not everyone is a hugger. The girl named Marta mutters something and walks away without another word.

"The hospital cafeteria is worse than our own!" Grady declares loudly, making me laugh.

"Okay, okay, OKAY!" a nurse sternly says, rushing in with a clipboard. "She just woke up, people! She needs room to breathe! Everyone out!"

The casts hurry out of my room as though afraid she'll beat them with the notes if they don't leave. When the dust clears, only one person remains. "I'm staying," he says, with an icy glare at the nurse.

She lowers her glasses and scrutinizes him. "Chad Dylan Cooper, eh? I've seen your type. Have it all and will do whatever it takes to get what they want. You might as well stay, to save us a few arguments." For some reason, that makes me giggle, but the nurse doesn't smile at all. "Alison, could you move your arm for me?"

I jerked it up and put it back. She seemed pleased.

"Can you move your head?" In compliance, I shake my head around as though dancing to a peppy song, grinning at her when I'm done.

"Can you move your legs?" I lift my leg up and wiggle it around.

"Can you move your legs for me, sweetheart?" the nurse says impatiently. I stare at her and give her a baffled look.

"I just did!"

"No, you didn't." Her face creases with worry lines. "Try again."

I do the same, but this time I look at my leg, and it doesn't even move.

She sighs. "You're paralyzed from the waist down. You're going to have to be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life."

I can't help it; I gasp dramatically and close my eyes. Maybe I was asked to guest star on Mackenzie Falls, and I hit my head or something during the episode and I've forgotten that it wasn't real. But… the nurse called Chad Chad Dylan Cooper, not Mackenzie…

I don't cry. It should be enough to just be alive.

"Wait… wasn't my mother in the accident too?" I ask urgently, having just thought of it.

"Yes she was, dear," the nurse says grimly.

"Can I see her?"

"Well, that depends… I can give you directions to the Munroe Family Graveyard, but can you find someone to drive you?"

In the distance, I hear Chad shouting at the woman for being so insensitive, but it's like I've gone into shock. I'm the only one here, just me. My mom's dead. Mom's _dead_. I start sobbing uncontrollably, and then I'm rooted to the Earth again. Chad and the nurse look up.

"I'll - I'll leave you two alone…" the nurse stammers.

"Good idea," Chad responds coldly.

She strides out of the room, and Chad comes over to sit beside me on the bed. "Hey, Sonny… I'm really sorry." With a jolt, I see that he has tears in his eyes too.

"Not… your fault," I manage, trying to stop crying. I just can't believe that she's dead.

"Well, it kind of is," he says anxiously.

I smack him, and he yelps a little and stands up.

"You idiot, don't ever say that! It's not your fault. I might have gotten in the car accident either way!" I order.

His face darkens. "I know."

I've seen that expression before. "What are you not telling me?"

He sighs. "You didn't just blow a tire. It was blown up by a very tiny bomb. Zora planted it there."

"Zora…?" I gasp. "No way. She couldn't have."

"She did, but she says someone told her to, told her that she would be killed if she didn't."

"Oh my God," I breathe.

"Yeah."

He sits back down, and we stay like that for a minute before I say, "I didn't know you cared this much."

"I didn't know I cared at all."

I start cracking up and give him a huge hug. He smiles at me, but his eyes are still downcast. Cloudy instead of a brilliant blue sky.

"Well, I kinda need to go…" Chad says hesitantly.

"Go on then! Get out of here!" I demand laughingly. The truth is, I don't want to be alone, but I know that he has to get back to shooting and stuff. "Bye," I say softly.

"Bye, Sonny."

*

**Chad**

When I get to the lobby again, the casts are there, as well as Marshall and Mr. Condor.

"You kids shouldn't have come here," Marshall is saying. Then he spots me. "Get over here!"

I follow his orders without a sound.

"We're going back to Condor Studios now, and Sonny's okay. She can have her spot back on _So Random! _if she wants once she recovers."

"No, she can't," I speak up sadly.

"That's not up to you -" Marshall starts.

"She's paralyzed from the waist down."

The casts' faces turn horrified, and Marshall sighs, shaking his head. "I'm sorry to hear that. We'll make it work, though."

We all move to walk out, but Marshall stops me. "Hey, I heard you bought the round trip tickets… well, Mr. Condor and I didn't. Can you give us two?"

"Well, we kinda need them…" At his harsh glare, I quickly say, "But two of us can drive home, I guess. I'll buy a car and trash it when I get home." I take the two tickets off the top of the pile - mine and Tawni's - and hand them over to him.

"Thanks," he says in that nasally voice of his.

"No problem." I sprint outside to catch up with the casts.

"Hey guys?" I call out. "I had to give two tickets to Marshall and Mr. Condor, because they didn't buy round trip. So I'm just gonna drive home, and Tawni?"

"Yeah?" she says in a voice that suggests she doesn't like where this is going.

"You'll need to come with me."

She sighs. "Fine."

That was easier than I thought.

Then all of a sudden Portlyn runs up to me and buries her face in my shoulder. "Chad, I love you, and I'm so, so sorry about Sonny!"

I hug her back. "Love you too, sis."

When she pulls away and looks at me, she appears hurt, but she runs off immediately with the rest of the casts, trying to catch their flight. Tawni stares at me. "Well? Shouldn't we go buy a car?"

"Nah, I already did," I say to her astonished look. "What? I saw a pretty cool car. I wanted to salvage parts of that and build something."

"Chad Dylan Cooper, a nerd. Who would've thought?"

"There are lots of things you don't know about me," I retort.

"Oh yeah? Like how you like Sonny?"

My eyes widen, and I search for a way out. "The car's parked between those buildings over there." I glance up at the sky, dark from the night sky and gray clouds combined. "And let's hurry. Looks like there's going to be a storm."

No sooner than when I finish my sentence, rain starts falling in buckets. Tawni screeches and starts sprinting for the car, and I run after her, holding the keys in one hand. As we approach the car, I move to press my thumb against the unlock button.

"Freeze."

A deep, fake-sounding voice comes from behind us. I let the keys clatter to the ground and put my hands up. _This is the person who tried to kill Sonny, _I think, but I can't turn around and murder them, much as I'd like to. I have to wait for the right moment.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tawni slowly twist her head around and gasp. The person curses, then…

"If either of you move again or make a sound, I'll kill you both right now."


	8. Catch Me

**Author's Note:** I hate this chapter so much. I really wanted it to be perfect, because it's the biggie - the climax of the story. The moment of the hurricane. The next chapter is the eye, and the chapter after that is when the hurricane continues and then fades. But my gosh, this sucks. Wow. I had to start, then scrap, then start, then scrap, three times. D: I settled for this because I hate making you guys wait anymore. But it's horrible and not descriptive enough and you can hardly get into it - well, at least, that's how it seemed to me writing it. I hope it's better when it's read. If I haven't scared you off by now, I hope you enjoy it anyway. ^^; Oh, and this chapter is basically the reason it's rated T. There's a fair bit of violence and a little language in here. Just warning you.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance or the beautiful song Catch Me by Demi Lovato.

****

* * *

Catch Me  
Chad and Sonny

"_Before I fall too fast  
__Kiss me quick but make it last  
__So I can see how badly this will hurt me when you say  
__goodbye" _

**Chad**

Rooted to the spot. Time ticks slowly around me. Too slow. Anger boils in my veins, turned to frozen fire as fear blows its cold wind on it. I breathe in, out, wondering if this is how Sonny felt in the instance before her car careened off the bridge. It can't be. The fear, maybe, but not the rage that makes me want to abandon all caution and strangle that son of a bitch that tried to kill Sonny.

I want to protect Tawni - call it a brotherly feeling, but I've been working with her or near her since we were six. I don't want her to be hurt too.

Maybe it's too late. Glancing over at her, her eyes hold tears yet to fall, and her jaw is clenched in taut, painful betrayal. Someone we know, it has to be. The thought hurts beyond anything I could ever say. I've been near someone who tried to kill Sonny.

I've been near someone who could kill me.

I try to catch Tawni's eye. After what seems like an eternity, she looks towards me. I mouth, _who is it?_

She shakes her head, her lip trembling.

"Hey! I said don't move!" demands the person, but the low, fake voice is gone now. Instead, it's not deep, and it resonates with hatred.

_I know that voice…_

But I can't bring myself to believe it.

*

**Sonny**

I'm almost asleep when footsteps pound into the room, and I have to open my eyes to make sure I'm not back in that coma that will haunt me for the rest of my life. It's a brief feeling of relief when I can, but that dissipates quickly when I see the casts again, worry lines etched on their faces and nerves making their eyes dart back and forth. I push myself up with my hands. _No way. Nothing could have happened. Everything that already has should be enough…_

With a jolt, I realize that three familiar faces are missing, all three of whom I care about very much… _too _much.

_No no no no no no no…_

"What is it? What happened?" I bark. Zora exchanges an anxious look with that Chastity girl, and comes up to my bedside.

"Sonny… I - I could have prevented this. I'm so sorry," she murmurs, her head hanging and her pigtails smacking against her cheeks. It's all I can do not to shout at her, for being so vague, when I _need _answers…

"We were at the airport when we noticed that some of us were missing. We asked Marshall about it, but he said that Tawni and Chad were driving home because of some ticket mishap. That didn't explain where… where…" Nico's voice shakes, and I see hurt and guilt making his face tense. "Where _he _was. Then Zora burst into tears, and we just… knew…"

"It was Grady," I whisper.

"Yeah. He was the one who tried to kill you." Nico's hands ball up into fists, and I know he's thinking about Tawni.

"Marshall tried to stop us, and we didn't know why… maybe he's in on it too. But we got out with Mr. Condor's help," Zora interjects, and gestures to the doorway. Mr. Condor peeks in and waves with the only friendly expression I've ever seen him have. But this isn't a time to marvel about things as insignificant as that.

"So… so…"

"We called Tawni, then Chad. Neither of them answered. Oh, God, Sonny, I'm so sorry…" Tears run down Zora's face.

"NO! Chad!" I shout out, not caring that people are looking at me with shock and surprise, not caring about anything other than my two best friends, who could be dead or worse. "Chad… Tawni…" I sob, leaning back into my pillows.

"Zora, do you know anything else?" Chastity asks quietly, trying without much success not to cry.

"Uh…" she sniffles. "Yeah. Grady's real name isn't Grady Mitchell. That's all he said. I wish I knew more."

Right now, though, knowledge doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Knowledge can't save Tawni. Knowledge can't rescue Chad.

Knowledge can't bring them back to me.

*

**Chad**

"Grady," I snarl, whirling around to see the beefy actor clutching a handgun and glowering at me.

"Don't CALL ME THAT!" he roars, cocking the gun and pointing it between my eyes. "And don't move, unless you want to be dead!"

I can hear Tawni's sobs, and obviously, Grady does too, because he turns to her. Instead of softening, though, he only seems to grow angrier. Now the gun is aimed at the back of her head. "Don't you dare touch her," I growl, anger slowly dying as my hope sinks. _He could blow her away if he wanted and I can't do anything about it…_

"Shut up!" Grady yells, lunging at me. Next thing I know I feel his fist at my cheek, striking against me and sending me hurtling to the ground. Blood mixes in with the water in a puddle, and I wipe the red liquid from my mouth with some shock. It's all I can do to not shake, but I won't give that bastard the satisfaction. I meet his gaze with a steely eye, trying not to flinch away when the gun swivels towards me again.

"Grady…" Tawni begs, and I inwardly wince.

"I told you, don't call me that!" The gun's in Tawni's direction now.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" I demand loudly. "What do you want from us?"

"It's not what I want from _you_," he corrects, and then a vengeful smirk masks his features. "It's what I want from your pretty little girlfriend."

"Leave Sonny out of this!" I start to say bravely, but I cough and spit up a tooth.

"I can't. She has everything to do with it," he says, still grinning at me like a wolf. I want to wipe that grin off his face.

"No she doesn't!" I scream, half-begging.

"Yes, she does. And her father, too."

*

**Sonny**

The minutes go by so slowly. No one wants to say anything, afraid of offending me, and I don't talk either. Each second has the potential to be the one that a guy I used to trust, a guy I used to count as my friend, kills someone I love. Tears are as necessary as breathing, even though I hardly feel anything anymore. There is nothing left to feel. I've already had all the fear drained from me, and after a time, grief becomes so usual that you don't even notice it's there. It's like being frostbitten on Mount Everest; it doesn't feel like it, but you're slowly freezing over, numbing up, until you're nothing more than a statue and a five-o'clock news story. I won't be surprised if my heart just gives out, right here. There's nothing more anyone can take from me.

I used to think the people from _Mackenzie Falls _were unfeeling and heartless. Now that I see Portlyn rocking back and forth in a chair, Chastity curled up in a ball with her face hidden, Ferguson with wet eyes, Skyler with teeth and fists clenched, and Marta whispering nonsense to herself, I see how very wrong I was. Rivalry blinded even _me_. The thought makes me whimper even more, hating myself, hating the world.

"Is there anything we can do?" I plead for what must be the fiftieth time.

"No," Zora answers tiredly.

*

**Chad**

I glare at Grady. "What does her father have to do with any of this -"

"Have you ever heard of Perry Munroe?" Grady interrupts, his face contorted in uncontrollable rage. I back up slightly, expecting a reprimand, but it doesn't come.

"No."

"I h-have," Tawni hiccups, turning around and lowering her arms to her sides. Grady doesn't object, just stares at her curiously. "He murdered someone."

"Perry Munroe is Sonny's father," Grady continues. "And he killed my mother, Katy Demorest." The hate in his eyes almost has me diving for cover. "I saw."

"Grady…" Tawni murmurs, almost in pity. _Don't feel sorry for him… he wants us dead… he wants Sonny dead…_

"Don't call me that," Grady protests, almost sounding like a little kid. His blonde hair shakes with his head, whipping more water into his face. The rain hitting the road is the only thing to break the silence as we stand there, Tawni and me staring at Grady, Grady staring at us.

Then Tawni gasps. "Katy Demorest!" she exclaims in realization. "She was my next door neighbor when I was little… her and her family… I was best friends with her son... but then they all disappeared…" Her hands fly to her mouth. "Oh my God, _Aidan?_"

"Yes," Grady responds flatly.

"But your hair was black…" Tawni says unbelievingly.

"They dyed it. They moved us," Grady has a bitter tone to his voice. "I was five, and I've always thought about the life I could have had…"

Thunder roars in the distance, but nothing in this world is noticeable except for our situation. "Wait a minute… who's Aidan? What the hell are you talking about?" I ask, staggering to my feet.

"Me. I'm Aidan," Grady answers. "Aidan Demorest. My mom died, and I saw it, I saw Sonny's dad kill her, and Sonny's dad tried to… kill me. A bomb in the mailbox. The mail lady got it, but… I've always remembered. I'll always remember."

"Just like Sonny will always remember that you were the one to plant a bomb in her tire! You almost killed her, like you were almost killed!" I shout, fists in front of me, no longer caring what he does because of my reaction. "How could you? When you knew how it felt!"

"BECAUSE HER FATHER RUINED MY LIFE!" Grady hollers, face beet red. "They took us in the Witness Protection Program after that, my father and I. They even went so far as to separate us…" I see tears glazed in his eyes, but I can only feel a stab of revulsion. "I became Grady Mitchell. My father, Joseph… became Marshall Pike."

"No way," Tawni whispers, and I know how she feels. It can't be true. It just can't.

"I needed revenge. I needed to kill her," Grady says, almost begging. "To make her dad hurt. To make him cry. I need him to cry."

"Well, it didn't work," I snarl back at him. "She's alive. She's fine. She'll always be fine."

Then that evil, wolf-like smile returns, and I fight down a shudder. "No, she won't. What do you think poor little Sonny will do when she finds out her mother, her best friend, and her… uh… soul mate are dead?"

"She wouldn't," I mutter, even though my knuckles are turning white and my breathing gets faster.

"She wouldn't have anything to live for, Cooper," Grady spits, still smirking. "She'll kill herself. What else could she do?"

Tears finally squeeze out of my tightly shut eyes, and Grady laughs, a maniacal, crazy sound. "You're insane, Gr - Aidan," I say. "You need help. You can't do this."

"I can." Grady's laugh becomes more booming. "After Sonny's mother died… I found that I had a taste for killing. I liked it." His grip on the gun tightens.

"So kill us," I say, and Tawni gapes at me. "If you want to so bad, just shoot us."

"I want to see you suffer first," he responds. "I want to see you writhe in fear, scream for help. Then I'll put you out of your misery."

I want to shout cuss words at him, but there's no point. It won't save Tawni and me.

"It's not Sonny's fault," I breathe, even though I know there's no point to it. "She didn't kill your mother or try to murder you. She's been nothing but nice to you ever since she came on _So Random!_."

"Why do you think she got on the show?" Grady retorts. "It was my father. Joseph. He invited her, so I'd get to know her, and so that I could kill her. He wanted that just like I did, but he was afraid to get his hands dirty. Well, I'm not."

There's nothing I can say to that.

The minutes pass by too fast, too slow. The rain washes away the blood on my cheek and the sky stays black, except for when lightning illuminates it. Grady looks at us, challenging us, but I don't move. It's what he wants, so instead I look at him with a bored expression. As if he knows what I'm doing, he doesn't get angry. He just grins.

Then I think of something. I catch Tawni's eye, and look at the keys. She nods ever so slightly. I then make a tiny hand gesture to myself, and I glance at Grady. She nods again.

I hold my breath. Behind my back I put up one finger for the universal signal of 'one second'. Five minutes, or what seems like it, passes. Then my finger goes down and I leap at Grady.

"NO!" he screams, and I hear a bang. Next thing I know I'm flying backwards and crashing into the wall, my knee erupting in fiery pain. I look down and see the bullet, not all the way in, sticking out tauntingly. I can't help a cry of pain.

I feel like I'm dying.

"Sonny…" I grunt, praying Tawni will get out of this and tell my favorite Random that my last words were for her. My vision swirls with all kinds of colors, spinning around me. I feel delirious, sure that I'm going to be sick. I am, then; I puke my guts out and don't care. Dizzy and disoriented, I beat my head against the wall, gritting my teeth as I feel blood leak out and stain my hair. It doesn't hurt as much as the pain in my leg. It doesn't hurt half as much as knowing that I'm never going to see Sonny again.

Thinking about Sonny reminds me of the situaton I am in, and the situation Tawni could still get out of. I look over at her, and she's staring at me with worry in her eyes. It's only been a second. "Move -" I start, but the pain gets to be too much and I fall over, twitching, still staring at Tawni.

She gropes for the keys and picks them up, successfully unlocking the vehicle with a click. Tawni grabs for the car door -

And suddenly she's airborne, a hole in her cheek, and then her head bounces against the hard pavement and she skids to a stop.

She's still.


	9. Weightless

**Author's Note: **I know, I know. Long wait, right? I'm really sorry. I recently found some free time, so this one and _A Different Part to Play _have a new chapter. _Beyond Words _will be updated as soon as I can get to it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this, despite it being not the best chapter in the world, hee hee.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance or Weightless by All Time Low.

****

* * *

Weightless  
Tawni and Chad

* * *

"_Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year  
__And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere  
__And this is my reaction to everything I fear  
__'Cause I've been going crazy  
__I don't want to waste another minute here"_

* * *

**Tawni**

The time for my life is almost up.

I can feel it just behind my eyes.

It's that dull almost-ache of being exhausted, where you just want to let go and sleep. Well, I would gladly do so, but _oh oh oh _the pain… it keeps me rooted here, to this world, to this life. I'm still alive, but it hardly even feels like I'm spread out on this road, my head lolling to the side, rapid breaths racking my body. Instead, I'm strangely separated from that body, with a bubble of air lifting me up. I would have no Earthly attachment at all if not for the fire under my cheekbone.

I wonder what it will be like, dying. I'm clinging on, partly because I don't want to die yet, partly because I'm afraid to. Maybe it will involve even more pain than what's happening to me right now. Maybe it will be gentle. Either way, I'm scared of it. But I mentally smack myself (as I'm not able to lift my arms) and make myself stop thinking about it.

That makes a lot of sense, having your last bit of life be all about death.

So I think about life.

I wish I could open my eyes, see what's going on, but because of either the tiredness or pain, I can't. I'm not sure if I'd even be able to see if I could. All of my senses are dulling, draining away along with what's left of my life. I can barely feel the sticky blood running all down my body. My ears can barely pick up Chad's screams.

Chad and me… what a horrible combination to be here, right now, in this dark alley at night with a murderer we used to trust. This way, there's a chance that two people could lose the one they love. If it were Nico and I, or Sonny and Chad, only one person would be shattered.

Or no one at all.

I know Nico will be broken. I really, really hope that, by some stroke of luck, he won't be. For my final wish, I wish that he'll find someone else for him, someone better than me, someone perfect, and that he'll be happy. Even though he always was the only one for me.

But Sonny and Chad… I honestly can't picture one without the other. I saw the hopelessness in Chad's eyes when he heard that Sonny was close to dead. I noticed how Sonny's eyes were only for Chad when she woke up. I heard Chad mutter Sonny's name as he was shot. _Oh God… _Chad was shot. He could die too.

Chad can't die. If he does, well… no girl can go on after losing her mother, friend, and soul mate. Poor Sonny would… I hate to say it… commit suicide. And the newspapers, they would make it out to be like a _crime_, just another scandal in the dog-eat-dog world called Hollywood that those reporters know nothing about.

Sonny can't go out like that. I can go out as being murdered, no problem - it'll probably be the most sympathy the world has ever had for me. But if Sonny committed suicide, her legacy would be "See this, kids? You can never do this" and "Just another person at the top hits rock bottom needlessly".

That just can't happen to Sonny. She deserves so much better. She's a great person, optimistic and happy, someone who loves making others laugh. I can understand why she'd think she had no more options - the pain of living through each day would be a thousand times worse than the one in my cheek (which I really wish I didn't just remind myself of, because it hurts _so much more _now that I'm thinking about it again).

Me, Tawni Hart, understanding?

It takes me by surprise for a second, but then I relax again. A lifetime of wisdom is flooding into me as I perish. I'm living out the rest of my life in a few seconds.

It's an unusual feeling. One second can leave me elated, then the next can make my heart feel like someone took a hammer to it. It takes a little bit to realize that the sensation isn't an emotion; it's a reality. My heart's putting the strength of ten thousand beats into one as it tries to make blood flow through my veins, without much success.

It's the surest sign yet that I'm dying.

*

**Chad**

"Tawni!" I shout out, my injury momentarily forgotten, and Grady - Aidan whirls on me.

"She's dead, and you're going the same way. Down," he snarls, and if I could, I would stand up and choke him to death. As it is, I can't do anything, just sit there and watch Tawni's dead body, trying as hard as I can not to cry.

It hurts, it all hurts, worse than anything I had ever imagined - the bullet in my knee, Tawni's death, Sonny's paralysis, and knowing that someone I once disliked but trusted brought it all on. With a shuddering sigh, I lean back against the brick wall, wishing for a second that I could become like Tawni, that I could just escape it all.

Then I notice Tawni's stomach rapidly rising and falling, in the tiniest, shortest breaths I've ever seen. Hope is suddenly born, and my eyes widen. Then they fall again.

_She's not dead, but she's dying. There's no hope for Tawni._

But there's still hope - for Sonny. For me.

*

**Tawni**

"Tawni!" Chad yells, and for a second there's the tiniest feeling that I might get out of this with only a few scrapes and bruises.

It easily diminishes. Of course that won't happen. I'm as close to dead as I'll ever be. It's amazing that I'm not already.

I take a long last breath, somehow sensing it will be my last. I want to taste the world one last time and think about everything that could have been mine, everything that should have been. But one wrong move, one unlucky deck dealt, and here I am, giving up everything at the tender age of seventeen.

All too soon, that last inhalation is over, and I'm exhaling it. It makes me want to cry, to think that I'm going to be released from my Earthly bounds soon, but I'm also kind of happy. There's a whole new world to go to, a place with only happiness, and nothing to cry about. Nothing to feel guilty about.

I'm glad I got to talk to Sonny before I died. I just wish I told Nico I loved him.

I should have concentrated on the things that mattered most instead of obsessing over petty things like hair and make-up. I'm ashamed of myself. I should have told the people that mattered most to me how much they meant…

Dying can put a lot of things in perspective.

But it's time to go now, and I can feel it, and I'm fighting against everything that keeps me tethered here. I just want to be free, to feel weightless...

And then a different darkness comes over me, and everything, everything, is gone.


	10. Pressure

**Author's Note: **Sorry that there isn't tons of action in this one. I want to get this story wrapped up, because I feel so bad that I haven't updated in forever. It'll be easier with only two stories, and pretty soon, just one. :) This story still has an epilogue after this, so it's not completely over yet. Despite this one's shortness, I kind of like the ending scene. The rest of it I'm not so sure about. Sorry to keep you guys waiting so long!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sonny With a Chance, Starbucks, or Pressure by Paramore.

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Pressure  
Chad

"_I can feel the pressure, it's getting closer now  
__We're better off without you  
__I can feel the pressure, it's getting closer now  
__We're better off without you  
__Without you"_

I take a deep, shuddering breath, fighting against the blackness at the corners of my eyes. "You killed her," I whisper, shocked. "YOU KILLED HER!"

Grady/Aidan smiles at me, tight-lipped, and turns the gun on me. Remembering the impact of the first bullet, I draw back, bracing myself for the excruciating pain. "Yes, I did," he answers, his voice none too steady, "and I'm going to kill you too. Sonny can live without her mother and Tawni… but not without her mother, Tawni, and Chad. That's too much."

I inhale, wondering what to do now. There has to be a way out. I can't see anything I could use, though, except for my unlocked car. But I would be too slow. My bloody leg would hinder me, and I'd never be able to make it.

Death now or death whenever Grady/Aidan decides to pull the trigger. He only seems to do any of this on instinct - when Tawni and I launched our plan, he shot, but not before. He's not shooting me now.

I don't think I can wait here any longer.

I lunge for the car, standing up on one leg and grabbing onto the handle like it's a lifeline. Grady/Aidan shouts and all of a sudden thousands (it seems) of bullets are raging at me, splitting the air with a high pitched whistle. All of them miss, but more come, and I'm sure I'll be dead soon. I climb into the car as rapidly as I can, turn on the engine, and rev it.

Then a bullet comes through the windshield.

My other knee explodes with pain.

I yell out in horror, barely able to keep from falling over and writhing my way to death. But I have to get home. There's no way I'm giving up yet. I try to floor the gas, but any movement sets my leg on fire, and I feel like I'm dying. Ducking below the windshield, I press my hand up against the cold, rough metal, and I rapidly push it to the ground. The car lurches forward, but jerks back as I hear a cold, sickening _thud. _

I look up, open the car door, glance out. Then I see, only a few short feet ahead, a bloody, twitching carcass who has no more than minutes left to live.

Relief. Guilt. It swirls through me, making me light-headed and weak. That could be the pain, too. If I don't get out of here soon, get help soon…

But even past that daunting thought, I want to help Tawni. She's dead. I've known her almost my whole life and she's dead. Too early. I groan, using my hands to push me to the ground. I land on my feet and then fall face first into the gravel. Spitting away the stones, I army crawl to where Tawni's body lays, under the night sky, under the rain and the wind I'd almost forgotten. I choke back a sob - this is no time for any more weakness - and start pulling her by the leg, trying to get her back to the truck. Her golden hair drags and gets caught in the rocks. She looks more like an angel than she ever has, with her eyes gently closed. It would seem as if she were sleeping if not for the bullet in her cheek, which I try not to look at.

Finally I get back to the truck and push Tawni's body up into the passenger seat. My arms ache with the effort, but I pull myself up and close the door. I move Tawni to the backseat as gently as I can manage, and then climb up into the driver's seat. Remembering my legs this time, I lean down and push against the pedal again, realizing with a horrified thought that this way, I can't steer or see. I scan the car, looking for a solution, and find an oddly out-of-place stick, skinned and polished. Maybe the people who sold me the car left it in there. In any case, I'm grateful to them. I grab the stick and use it to push down the gas pedal, twirling the wheel with my left hand.

Everything crashes down on me all at once.

And that's how the cops find me, two bullets in my legs as I sob and shout, swerving everywhere on the road like a drunk, with the dead body of Tawni Hart in the backseat and a hell of a story to tell.

*

No one but the casts would have believed me if one of the buildings we were beside, Wilson's Diner, hadn't had a camera installed because of a rash of vandalism just last week. It caught everything, how Grady/Aidan shot me and killed Tawni, and how I ran over him. Everything in his soul that Grady/Aidan poured out was also caught on camera, and that's the reason that Marshall/Joseph is being led away today, howling cuss words at me and vowing that he'll kill me if it's the last thing he ever does.

But it's over.

I see Sonny today, and how she's trying to be brave, but as soon as she notices me lingering in the hallway she crumbles. I push down on the wheels and roll myself over to her bedside; moving is something I'm getting better at every day. Two casts cover my legs. The doctors told me that they could replace my knees, and though they'd still be weak, I could walk on them.

I told them to give me a wheelchair and forget the surgery.

The brunette glares at me, her chocolate brown eyes as hateful as they can be. For a second I consider leaving, but then she wraps her arms around me and hisses in my ear, "How could you put yourself in danger like that?"

I grin. "I didn't really have much to do with it," I remind her, but then she lets go and stares at the floor. "Are you okay?"

"No, not really…" she murmurs. "Tawni's dead and my mom's dead. Aidan killed them."

I was surprised to hear that she knew Grady/Aidan's real name. "Did the cops tell you about Grady -"

"That wasn't Grady," she whispers, closing her eyes as tears cling to her eyelashes. "That was Aidan, who almost killed you. Grady is my friend… _was _my friend. But he died too." I waited for the inevitable _you killed him _but it doesn't come. She sighs. "He killed himself."

I don't say anything. I only hug her again, holding her close as she sobs into my shoulder.

*

I've never seen him cry before, but Nico does, when I explain to him exactly how Tawni died.

He deserves to know. He deserves to know everything, not just what the cops say. I can see it in his eyes, the heartbreak that so easily could have been Sonny's, could have been mine.

Grady/Aidan and Nico were always a pair, but now one of them is dead. When Nico wasn't with his best friend, he was with his girlfriend, Tawni. She's dead too.

He sobs and sobs, hitting his head sideways against the wall, and I don't know what to say so I just roll out of there, leaving him behind to drown.

*

"So this is the end," Portlyn says with unanticipated dry eyes. She stares somberly at me, pushing her dark curls back behind her ear. We're sitting in the hospital cafeteria. I'm drinking lemonade and she's clutching a mocha from the Starbucks down the street.

"Not the end, not really, I guess," I shrug. "I don't think it's ever really the end… until death. That's the end."

"Tawni reached hers," Portlyn remarks, then her voice lowers and something akin to both wonder and fear appears on her face. "Do you think it hurt?"

"I… don't know. The bullets did," I answer, gesturing down to my knees. "But actually dying? Maybe it's just like drifting off to sleep."

"Do you think she's… in a better place?"

"Uh… I don't know. You know me. I'm not really a churchgoer, or anything like that. I don't pray often. But I really, really hope so." I shift uncomfortably in the wheelchair.

"It's a shame that we don't have any of the answers," Portlyn says dejectedly. She places her head in her hands, and her shoulders start shaking.

"Hey… hey," I whisper, trying to comfort her. "We're not meant to have the answers, I don't think. Later we will. But for now… why not just enjoy what's left of life, rather than brooding about death?"

She sniffs and nods, still hiding her eyes. Then she looks up at me, only traces of tears on her cheeks, and grins widely. "You know what, Chad? I think now… well, maybe not now, but soon… I think we're all going to be okay."


End file.
